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Langlade and Lincoln counties in Wisconsin had baiting banned on Feb 1, 2018 after a recent announcement of a CWD positive deer test confirmation.

According to a press release issued by the DNR Monday afternoon, as required by law, this finding will establish baiting and feeding bans for Lincoln and Langlade counties effective Feb. 1, 2018. The ban for Lincoln County will be enacted for three years. Langlade County is within 10 miles of the Lincoln County positive wild deer, and due to being adjacent to a county with a CWD positive test result, a two-year ban will be enacted. Oneida County is already under baiting and feeding bans and those bans will be renewed with this newest detection.

The CWD positive deer was a 2 year old buck shot in the northern section of Lincoln County. Adjacent Oneida County is also under a feeding and baiting ban.

“This latest discovery is troublesome and is something we take very seriously,” said DNR Secretary Dan Meyer. “We will start a dialogue with the local community through the County Deer Advisory Council on what steps should be taken next. While there is no silver bullet remedy to eradicate CWD, we have learned from experience that having the local community involved is a key factor in managing this disease.”

Many hunters continue to question the logic of allowing baiting to continue anywhere in the state with CWD cases spreading statewide. Close contact with infected deer, saliva, urine, and feces are all confirmed means of spreading CWD. Baiting and feeding deer increases deer to deer contact and exposure to prions left by infected deer.

Baiting and feeding deer will only spur the spread of CWD. By encouraging deer to feed in close quarters one is also encouraging the spread of the disease. Plain and simple.

For more information regarding baiting and feeding regulations and CWD in Wisconsin, and how to have adult deer tested during the 2018/2019 hunting seasons, visit the department’s website, dnr.wi.gov, and search “bait and feeding” and “CWD sampling” respectively.